IN THE last three years, the median American worker's real hourly pay has fallen by about 2 percent. Declines for those on the lower- and upper-middle ends of the wage distribution have been even worse -- about 4 percent.

If you think that's bad, consider that federal minimum-wage workers haven't seen a raise in almost 10 years, and earn a fraction of the median hourly wages in this country. Nervous analysts have begun to point out that whenever wage growth lags behind inflation, political turmoil is sure to follow.

Do congressional Republicans know this? Have they forgotten that the wheel of politics turns, no matter who's in charge? Perhaps they're hoping that immigration and same-sex marriage will save them in November, because they're not going to gain any points if Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., resurrects their "trifecta bill" to cut the estate tax, raise the minimum wage for some, and slash -- or freeze -- the minimum wage for others.

The Senate narrowly blocked HR5970 last week, and Frist has indicated that he'll try again. He shouldn't -- this trifecta is a two-time loser. All that's worth saving is the wage increase. As for the rest, proposed cuts in the estate tax would make hundreds of wealthy families very happy and cost the rest of us $267.6 billion over the next 10 years.

Then there's the tax breaks for the timber and coal-mining industries, designed to make an estate tax cut more palatable to U.S. Sens. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. We're happy to report that Cantwell said no. Perhaps it's because she comes from a state that would have watched millions of its tipped workers suffer slashed wages -- the other, and equally insidious, poison pill of HR5970.

It's called a "tip credit," and it has rapidly grabbed attention because it's the first time in history that the federal government has sought to limit minimum-wage earnings for a certain group of workers. The bill's language is frighteningly vague -- the Golden Gate Restaurant Association said it would have to hire a lawyer to interpret it if it passes -- and there has been much confusion about whether the bill will slash the minimum-wage earnings of tipped workers in states such as California, where wages and tips are counted separately, or merely freeze their wages so that employers may count their tips as part of any future minimum-wage increase. It's appalling that something so important to our nation's millions of tipped workers could be so puzzling.

Republican leaders like to cry "class warfare" whenever anyone points to their top-weighted economic policies. HR5970 is an example of class warfare -- and it's clear where the GOP loyalties rested.